Whoo HOO!!!
Wife just called me at work and informed me that I have some freshly coated headers waiting for me on the front step!
I know what I am doing tonite!!!
....I'll try and remember to take some pic's....before I put them on....
OK, unpacked the newly coated headers and boy were they packed! Came to me in a Hooker header box! The 1700 degree finish is about as grey as the background of this text. It is not the bright and shiny aluminum looking finish that you see so often. I had heard that the 1300 degree coating can lift when in tight confines.....well, you cannot get much tighter than a Mangusta! Cost was no different....and I do NOT want to be in here again any time soon dorking around with headers!
Insert pictures here:
RH header:
LH Header:
LH mods at front two pipes to clear upper control arm.
Underside of front tube on LH header to allow more clearance of frame rail!
More misc:
This is a deeper grey finish as I said above. Sorta grows on you! Is very resistant to staining and grubby finger prints!!! Pretty tough, but can be scratched....oops!
Of course since nothing can go smoothly, and why would this part of the job be any different....when I did the original fitting, I did not have my studs for the heads yet. Using aluminum heads, I figured I'd use studs to save the threads in the heads. I used a gasket and some short header bolts to see how the holes looked and removed material where it was in excess. (THESE ARE THE WORST FREAKING HEAD FLANGES THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! THE BUILDER MUST HAVE USED CRAYONS TO MAKE HIS PATTERNS.....) OK, that rant aside, these things REALLY suck....I mean how many times has Ford changed the small block exhaust pattern in 30 years? Correct answer would be: ZERO! NONE! NADA! I digress....
SO the headers didn't just slide on.....I filed and I ground with a carbide ball, and eventually they slipped right on like they were supposed to! This time, I dragged an old head out of the shed and used my extra 4 studs to test fit on the bench!!! Wasn't fool proof, but I was able to see better, areas that may be an issue...but still needed to trial fit the RH header about a dozen times before they cooperated!
I also ran into a couple of the studs that were tooooooo long. I could only get 1.75"or so studs, with 5/8" of coarse threads to go into the heads and I think a 1" fine threaded section to hold the headers on. I knew I may need to shorten some, but I wasn't going to get too anal and shorten them all..... (If I had my own metal lathe, my name would be asshole... 
) SO, I had to shorten 2 or 3 on the RH side, and 1 on the LH side due to the angle that the tubes were welded in.....a cut off wheel, and a thread chasing file were all I needed to make this a very short job! I ran nuts onto the stud before I cut the bulk off, and that way, when removing the nuts, they chase the material back into position...clean up with the thread file and off ya go!
I also had to do some minor malletizing on the area adjacent to the studs so that the whippy dippy lock washer devices I picked up would fit, but in most cases it was due to being unable to get the 12pt reduced size nut in place. Conventional header bolts probably would have fit by a few hairs.... I eventually figured out that if I could get the nuts in place and finger snug, I could use the largest screwdriver that I owned, with a nice smooth flat blade, and slide it down between the nut and the header pipe. A few raps with the hammer and I moved the metal just enough for my small headed wrench to fit properly. Large headed wrench will probably be a no go..... (Some day I may look back and curse myself for all of this 12pt hardware and for being so anal....OK I kick my butt all the time for doing that already...nothing new!)
So, a couple of small scratches near the bolt/nuts on the tubes, but I'm not worried about that. Wouldn't be the first car I've seen with super nice finishes on their headers.....with all sorts of damage up by the bolts from sockets and what not!!! I plan on fab'ing up some stock type exhaust shields to "suggest" what the originals sort of looked like...which should hide these transgressions anyway! That is a later job....much later.....
I looked at my muffler to header fit, as I was thinking I would need a couple of 45's welded together to get an "S" shaped inlet pipe to the mufflers, but it looks now like the "kick over" will only be about the width of the pipe (1-7/8" OD pipe), so I think that just leaving it straight will be fine. We'll see once I get to fab'ing up hanger straps etc.
Oh, and the reinforcements and inserts arrived from Panteras by Wilkinson, and they look great! Just like my originals only shinier!
Gotta take the wife out for dinner tonite....to celebrate 26 years of slavery..I mean marriage! Anniv. was Wed, but I was out in the garage working....I took her to lunch earlier in the day, so I actually did pay attention to her..(!!!)and tonight was better for dinner due to a live band in the square downtown right next to this little Italian restaurant.....go hang out until it cools off!
Ciao!
Steve
